Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Seminar Series 2015

25 Nov 2016

Womenomics

27 January 2015

Watch the seminar

Womenomics

The term “Womenomics,” coined by Kathy Matsui, Chief Japan Equity Strategist at Goldman Sachs, refers to policies aimed at enabling women to make a larger contribution to the Japanese economy. It has become a key component of “Abenomics” – Prime Minister Abe’s overall policies for the revitalisation of Japan. As dual-income couples have increasingly become the norm in Japan, the female labour participation rate is, in fact, more or less in line with other developed countries. The difference is that Japanese female workers disproportionately work in positions with low status, low pay, and low job security. The World Economic Forum Gender Inequality Ranking puts Japan 104th out of 142 countries, far below other developed countries.

Enabling Japanese women to make a fuller contribution at work would significantly boost Japanese GDP, but gender inequality is a complex issue with deep roots in Japanese society. Glen Fukushima is a widely-followed observer of and writer on Japan, and as former CEO and Chairman of Airbus Japan, has experience of these issues from the management point of view. Mami Mizutori is a former senior Japanese diplomat who has seen at first hand the obstacles that must be negotiated by Japanese career women. They discussed the initiatives taken by the Abe government so far and the hidden barriers to meaningful change.

(Text from Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. For more information, please see here)